On December 29, 1876, the westbound Pacific Express reached an iron bridge over the Ashtabula River during a blizzard. The bridge collapsed beneath the train, sending passenger cars into a ravine where overturned heating equipment ignited a devastating fire. Approximately 92 people died, although incomplete passenger lists and severely burned remains make an exact count difficult. The catastrophe exposed failures in bridge engineering, emergency response and passenger safety, and left Ashtabula with a cemetery memorial to victims who could not be identified.